Car door



Dec. 24, 1940.

J. P. M WILLIAMS cm noon Filed July 2 5, 1958 5 MM- Ma M 0 N H- w Patented Dec. 24, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,225,705 CAR noon Application July 23, 1938, Serial No. 220,892

I 2 Claims.

This invention relates to car doors and is directed more particularly to sliding car doors of the lift type.

Car doors of the lift type are normally seated frictionally upon supporting tracks. These doors are provided with mechanism operable to elevate the doors above the tracks and transfer their weight to rolling means to secure easy movement of .the doors between open and closed positions. The lifting mechanism utilizes members, usually in the form of castings within which lifting devices are housed, and a lever for actuating these devices.

This invention has for an object the provision of lift mechanism which shall effect reductions in the number of parts employed, labor costs and weight and a consequent simplicity and compactness of construction and saving in cost.

A further object is to provide housing members for lift mechanisms capable of association with the actuating levers of these mechanisms to pre- Vent loss of the levers, serve as guides therefor and resist outward pull on the levers tending to bend them.

Other objects of the invention will become clear as the description thereof proceeds. In the drawing forming part of this specification:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary elevation of a car door embodying the instant invention.

Figure 2 is a vertical section taken on line 22 of Figure l.

Referring to the drawing, there is shown fragmentarily and for purposes of illustration a metallic door II] to which the invention is applied. As illustrated, the door I is provided with horizontal corrugations II and at its lower margin carries a backing plate I2 and a reinforcing angle [3, the vertically disposed leg I4 of this angle being located between the backing plate I2 and the lower margin of the door l0 while the horizontally disposed leg I5 is directed outwardly.

Since the door It! is of the lift type the horizontal leg l5 of the bottom reinforcing angle |4 rests frictionally upon a supporting track l6 when the door is in lowered position. The track I6 is supported below the door opening by means of a plurality of brackets, one of which is shown at I1. The track I6 is riveted to the brackets H as indicated at l8 and in turn the brackets are secured as by rivets Hi to the web 20 of a channel shaped side sill 2|. The track I6 is shown to be angular in cross section and one of its flanges 22 extends downwardly.

With doors of the type illustrated mechanism is provided to lift the doors so as to disengage the horizontal flange I3 of the bottom reinforcing angle Hi from the supporting track l6 and transfer the weight of the doors to rolling means whereby the doors may readily be moved to open position. trated embodies a roller 23 located adjacent the lower forward corner of the door. The roller 23 is received within a roller retainer 24 and is carried thereby by means of a pin or axle 25. The roller retainer 24 is provided with oppositely extending trunnions 23 and 21, the latter of which is journaled in a bearing provided in the upstanding leg M of the bottom reinforcing angle l3 and in the backing plate l2. The roller retainer 24 is provided with an car 23 which carries a stud 29.

The roller 23 and the roller retainer 24 are housed within a member 30 preferably in the form of a casting. The housing member includes a hollow body portion 3| from the top and sides of which an attaching flange 32 projects. The side flanges 32 are shaped to conform to the lower horizontal corrugation formed in the door Ill. The flanges 32 are adapted to be applied to the door l0 and be riveted thereto as by means of rivets 33 for the securement of the housing member to the door. The body portion 3| of the housing member is extended downwardly and formed into an upwardly opening hook 34 adapted to cooperate with the depending vertical flange 22 of the track It to retain and guide the door upon the track.

The trunnion 26 formed on the roller retainer 24 is journaled in a bearing 35 formed in the body portion 3| of the housing member 30. The trunnion 26 as clearly shown in Figure 2 of the drawing extends outwardly beyond the housing member so as to be adapted to receive a lever 36 by means of which the lift mechanism is actuated. The projecting portion of the trunnion 26 is provided with flat vertical faces 3l3| and the portion of the lever mounted upon the projecting part of the trunnion is similarly conformed.

The housing member 30 is so formed as to serve as a guide and retaining member for the actuating lever 36. To this end, an arcuate flange 38 is provided on the body portion 3| of the housing member. A cooperating member 39 substantially Z-shaped in vertical section is secured to the inner face of the actuating lever 36 as by means of a rivet 40. The depending flange 4| of the Z-shaped member 39 is ofiset relative to the inner face of the actuating lever and is disposed rearw-ardly of and in lateral relationship The particular lift mechanism illusto the arcuate flange 38 provided on the housing member 30.

The housing member is constructed to limit the movement of the actuating lever 36. For this purpose the reinforcing ribs 42 and 43 terminate in the body portion of the housing member, thereby providingshoulders 44 and 45 which are alined longitudinally with the actuating lever.

The foregoing description relates to the portion of the liftmechanism and to the housing member adjacent the lower forward corner of the door. It is to be understood that the remaining portion of the lift mechanism and its associated housing member are located adjacent the lower rear corner of the door. The construction of the considered portion of the lift mechanism .and the housing member are essentially the same as the portion of the mechanism and housing member illustrated and herein described and no further description thereof is believed to be necessary.

The lift mechanisms adjacent the lower corners of the door are operated in unison by the actuation of the lever 36 in which, by virtue of the instant invention, .a substantial reduction in size and weight has been effected. To this end a connecting bar 46 located within the lower hOrizontal corrugation II is provided. The bar 46 is flattened at its ends as indicated at 41 and is slipped over the adjacent studs 29 provided on the roller retainers. Simultaneous operation of the mechanisms is thus insured.

Elevation of the door is obtained by downward pull upon the lever 36 in a clockwise direction as viewed in Figure 1 of the drawing. Since the trunnions 26 and 2! are offset relative to the roller pin or axle 25, this movement of the operating lever will exert a force through the trunnions upon the door whereby the door .will be lifted from the track and supported upon the rollers. In this movement of the actuating lever it will be guided by the cooperating flanges 38 and 4| provided respectively on the housing member 30 and on the lever. These cooperating flanges, moreover, prevent loss of the lever and serve to resist any outward pull upon the lever which might tend to distort it. The downward movement of the lever is limited by its engagement with the shoulder 45.

It will be apparent that numerous changes and modifications in the details of the invention will be clear to those skilled in the art. It is intended, therefore, that all such modifications and changes be comprehended within this invention which is to be limited only by the scope of the claims appended hereto.

I claim:

1. A housing member for enclosing a portion of a lift mechanism provided on a sliding lift door, said member comprising an attaching flange adapted for securement to .a said door, a hollow body portion extending outwardly from said attaching flange and in which said portion of said lift mechanism is received and an arcuate guiding and retaining flange on said body portion, said arcuate flange being adapted to cooperate with means on an actuating lever of said lift mechanism for guiding and retaining said lever.

2. Lift mechanism for a sliding car door comprising a roller, an actuating lever, a housing member secured to said door having a hollow body portion for receiving said roller, an arcuate guiding and retaining flange on said body portion and means on said actuating lever cooperating with said arcuate flange for guiding and retaining said lever.

JOHN P. MCWILLIAMS. 

